J.F.K. Computer Glitch Wreaks Havoc on Air Passengers

A Verizon service disruption unleashed travel chaos at a terminal at Kennedy International Airport on Sunday night, grinding the check-in process to a near halt and forcing airline employees to hand-write boarding passes for thousands of unhappy passengers.

Large numbers of travelers were affected by the disruption, which began around 4 p.m. in Terminal 7, which is operated by British Airways, said Neal Buccino, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport. The check-in line stretched to an estimated 1,500 people at one point, he said.

Mr. Buccino said the server that provided wireless Internet and other computer services for the terminal had “some kind of problem.” An airport official said the services were provided by Verizon, which did not offer a comment when reached on Sunday night.

“We apologize for any inconvenience caused as a result of a system outage,” a spokeswoman for British Airways wrote in an email. “Our colleagues are working as quickly as they can to assist all customers traveling tonight.”

A line of frustrated economy-class passengers could be seen stretching out the terminal doors, snaking up the sidewalk all the way back onto the elevated roadway that leads to the terminal. Inside, airline employees were writing boarding passes by hand, sometimes in pencil.

Terminal 7 is operated by British Airways, not the Port Authority, but Mr. Buccino said Port Authority police officers had been dispatched there to help control the crowd. He described the scene as “orderly,” but said tensions had sometimes flared.